Sparkling Andromeda – NASA

Andromeda’s galaxy, also known as Messier 31 (M31), is a sparkling tag in this image published on June 25, 2025, in homage to the revolutionary heritage of the astronomer, Dr. Vera Rubin, whose observations have transformed our understanding of the universe. In the 1960s, Rubin and his colleagues studied M31 and determined that there was an invisible question in the galaxy which affected the way in which the galaxy and its spiral arms turned. This unknown material was named “Dark Matter”.

M31 is the spiral galaxy closest to the Milky Way at a distance of around 2.5 million light years. Astronomers use Andromeda to understand the structure and evolution of our own spiral, which is much more difficult to do since the earth is anchored inside the Milky Way.

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Image credit: radiography: NASA / CXO / UMASS / Z. Li & QD WANG, ESA / XMM-Newton; Infrared: NASA / JPL-CALTECH / WISE, SPITZER, NASA / JPL-CALTECH / K. Gordon (U. AZ), ESA / HERSCHEL, ESA / PLANNCK, NASA / IRAS, NASA / COBE; Radio: NSF / GBT / WSRT / IRAM / C. Clark (STSCI); Ultraviolet: NASA / JPL-CALTECH / GALLEX; Optics: Andromeda, unexpected © Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner, Yann Saint -C. Sahner, T. Kottary. Image composite processing: L. Frattare, K. Arcand, J.Major